West Bank: Settler violence kills Palestinian-American

Amid escalating Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian-American man was killed on July 31st during an Israeli arson attack in Silwad, a town northeast of Ramallah, according to The New Arab plus agencies.

Visiting from the United States, Khamis Abdul Latif Ayyad, died of smoke inhalation while attempting to extinguish a fire set by settlers just outside his family home. Raed Hamed, Silwad’s mayor, told The New Arab’s Arabic-language edition that at least seven vehicles were set on fire in the early hours of the morning, sparking a blaze.

Ayyad, who was awake at the time, hurried outside to stop the flames but collapsed after breathing in heavy smoke. He was later pronounced dead. His wife and three children survived the incident.

Following the attack, a general strike was held in Silwad on July 31st. Soon after, Israeli forces stormed the town, prompting confrontations with residents.

Settlers also attacked the nearby villages of Rammun and Abu Falah, setting fire to cars and vandalising homes with racist graffiti, local sources said. Israeli forces also raided the Askar refugee camp near Nablus. On July 30th, settlers started widening an illegal outpost on land belonging to Deir Nizam village, northwest of Ramallah.

These incidents form part of a broader surge in settler and military violence across the West Bank since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. The violence has accelerated since January, when the Israeli army expanded its military operations in the West Bank’s North.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 have suffered wounds due to Israeli raids since 2023, local sources have said.

Hamed said that the recent attacks around Ramallah are part of a broader strategy by Israel to forcibly displace Palestinians and seize further land.

Last month, the Israeli parliament passed a resolution supporting the annexation of the West Bank, which, alongside East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 conflict. The expansion of settlements and total annexation is a blatant breach of international law.

Meanwhile, a number of Western countries, including France, the UK, and Canada, have declared plans to recognise a Palestinian state as early as September, a decision denounced by Israel and its key ally, the United States.

The New Arab plus agencies, Maghrebi.org